AstroGuide
Role: UX Designer
Duration: 12 weeks
Approach: Sprint Methodology
Introduction
Screen grab of landing page AstroGuide
Screen grab of AstroGuide
AstroGuide is a virtual planetarium experience. During this project, our team used the Sprint Methodology which is usually a 5-day method but due to limited class time hours, this was done over 12 weeks. The Sprint Methodology is a 5-day process that answers critical business questions through design, prototyping, and testing ideas.
This project's purpose is to find a solution for our problem space. We decided to tackle creating a physical experience into a virtual experience because the Covid-19 pandemic affected all of our physical spaces. Our team created AstroGuide for users that visit a planetarium physically for their astronomy needs. AstroGuide allows these users to experience the benefits of a planetarium in a virtual space to stay up to date with space-related news and information.
Solution Showcase
Solution showcase via Miro. Our team member Ridge created this solution that would have the user wanting to learn more about a mars rover.
Our problem space was to create an app that keeps users up to date with space-related news. Each member of our team came up with a scenario that a user would go through using our app.
Our team determined the best solution by participating in an Art museum to critique our other member's solutions. Ultimately, my scenario wasn’t the best scenario for what our users would experience. I had a similar scenario where the user wanted to find more information on a rocket launching that day but couldn't find a reliable source to find information on the rocket launch.
My team member Ridge was the best scenario that a user would experience through our app. Once we found our solution we began the user research process.
User Research
At the start of this sprint adventure, we took to social media to find users that have been to a planetarium/ museum. I found users by posting an ad to my followers. Our goal was to find users that have recently visited planetariums and science museums to gain insight into users’ motivations and points associated with the users’ motivations. I moderated an interview via video chat with each participant I recruited while the other team members took notes.
After we conducted the interviews we noticed common tends from each potential user. We discovered that users enjoyed the immersive factors like darkness, the screen feature of the show, and auditory stimulus. We found these common factors we conducted affinity mapping after every interview.
After users visited the planetarium or science museum 3/5 of the participants were interested in learning more about astrology. Our team did consider other negative factors that would affect their experience in a planetarium like chatter, showtimes, and extra fees. The question is how can we maintain their interest and engagement in the subject?
Bar graph of users mentioning immersion factors
Map of the Problem
This Sprint method used for this project is a 5 day process that answers critical business questions through design, prototyping, and testing ideas. The map provides 4 parts that contribute to the experience at a planetarium. We identified when a person visits a planetarium there is the user, receptionist, theatre usher, and host.
Prioritization
Our problem space is how can we turn a physical planetarium experience into a virtual experience. We had many problems that needed solutions. We created all of our how might we statements and rated them by how useful the solution to that statement would be. As a team, we agreed that we would focus on
“How might we let users learn astronomy at their own convenience?”
Design Critique/Art Museum
In our museum we got a chance to look at everyone’s work. We started with basic sketches. Each outline is based on our favorite ideas from crazy 8’s.
Ideation sketch
Ideation sketch
Storyboard solution sketch
As a team we creating questions and comments on everyone’s story board, ideations, and solutions. We voted for the best solution for our problem “How might we let our users learn about astronomy at their own convenience?”
Our teammate Ridge was the best solution to our problem. Ridge’s solution included a news timeline feature that notified users of update on space. This solved our problem because of the access user had to information about space and astronomy. Space is very broad so having users learn about astronomy and space without being overwhelmed with information they are uninterested in. This path we chose is considered our “happy path” as it solves the user’s main goal: learning about astronomy at their own convenience.
We did a crazy 8 activity to brainstorm ideas rapidly. This is where we spent a total of 8 minutes creating a storyline of a possible solutions to our problem statements. Each member of the team added details to show how users interact with our app.
User Testing
For our user testing session, we collected 5 participants to test our prototype AstroGuide. We conducted the testing via discord through screen sharing. we used social media to find more users to test AstroGuide. I created the script for our testing and I moderated 2 testing sessions. In the user sessions, we gave the participants a scenario to guide them through experiencing the app. The goal was for the participants to sign up for notifications. The user would talk us through each step taken to achieve the goal.
Visual of the user findings out of 5 user participants
Conclusion
In conclusion, the sprint experience of this projects was achieved. As a team we created an physical experience into a virtual experience called Astroguide. I collaborated with my team to get the best solution for our problem through our showcases, art museum, and user research. What I learned from the sprint is that users are seeking a convenient way to receive information.